What's on the Label

We are all trying to make smarter choices to lose weight or to maintain a proper balance in our bodies. It can get a little tricky when it comes to reading labels, and many have asked questions about it, so I've come up with the following to help you improve your nutritional habits and sharpen your label reading skills.

Ingredients: Are listed by weight, the most to the least.
--- Limit products where fats and sugars appear early in the list.
--- Limit products containing "shortening" or "partially hydrogenated" fats.
--- Limit products containing coconut, palm oil, cocoa butter, butter or lard.

Serving Size: All nutrition numbers listed are based on this amount. Compare the serving size to the amount you eat. For example, if the serving size was 50 calories per serving size of 1 cup and you ate 2 cups you will have ingested 100 calories.

Servings Per Container: Even small packages sometimes contain more than one serving so look for "serving per container" listing.

Total Fat: Low fat foods contain 3 grams of fat or less per serving.

Saturated fat: Raises blood cholesterol levels. Food low in saturated fat contain less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat per serving.

Trans fat: Trans fat results from adding hydrogen to vegetable oils. Look for "hydrogenated" oils in the ingredient list to know if a food contains trans fat. Trans fat raises the bad cholesterol (LDL) and lowers the good (HDL). You should limit your intake of fats to less than 10 percent of total calories.

--- Cookies, crackers, French fries and other commercial fried and baked foods are a major source of trans fat in the diet.

Cholesterol: Found only in animal foods. It is recommended that you eat less than 200 milligrams of cholesterol per day.

Sodium: The part of salt that can raise blood pressure and cause fluid retention. A good rule is to choose foods that contain 400 mg or less per serving.

Total Carbohydrate: A total that includes starches, sugars, and fiber.

Sugars: The label reads "No Added Sugar." This means that there were no sugars added during processing or packing. This does not mean the food is totally sugar, carbohydrate or calorie free.
The label reads "Sugar Free." This means that less than 0.5 grams of sugar is in a serving. "Sugar Free" foods are low in calories, but may still contain carbohydrates, such as sugar alcohols (sorbitol, etc.).

Fiber: Good choices have 3-5 grams per serving. The recommended amount is a total of 25-30g each day,

%Daily Value: Shows how the food fits into a 2000-calorie diet. This may not be useful depending on your total calorie intake.

Finally don't get so wrapped up in calorie counting and label reading that you forget that food is more than just fuel for your body. It is one of the greatest ways we celebrate with family and friends and an important part of every culture.

To Your Health
Toninetta